Secret deals you have to ask for

"Many hotels charge a higher price for a menu item than if you ordered it in their bar or restaurant. . . . For example, charging $6.50 for a burger in the bar, but $7.50 if you order the same burger in room service," poster "Reavicus" wrote. "And most room service will charge you an automatic gratuity . . . AND charge you a service charge just to deliver."

You often can avoid these extra charges by walking down to the restaurant and placing a to-go order, Reavicus said, "but please do not forget to tip your server!!!"

Off-the-menu restaurant deals

Many restaurants allow you to order a smaller "lunch portion" of a meal at dinnertime, a move that will not only save you money but calories. For example, the lunch-size portion of shrimp primavera at a local Olive Garden has 483 calories, compared with 706 calories for the dinner plate.

Many chains also have restaurant "clubs" that offer coupons and discounts to those who sign up. Ask your server. It also doesn't hurt to ask about senior or military discounts, if you're eligible, or whether you can get anything for free because it's your birthday (just be prepared to show proof).

Coupon magic

Some retailers make a big deal about accepting competitors' coupons, while others do so only quietly. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Also know that coupon expiration dates may mean something -- or they may not. Bed Bath & Beyond stores, for example, accept competitors' unexpired coupons and accept their own chain's expired coupons.

Another Your Money poster tries to extend a coupon's usefulness by recycling.

"If I feel a 'warm fuzzy' from a cashier, I will often ask for my coupon back," "jrr2k" wrote. "Works a lot. Some coupons are scanned and handed right back."

Others say they've had luck getting a clerk to "lend" them a coupon when they've forgotten theirs at home.

Grocery tips

Forget your supermarket loyalty card? Bring your receipt back with you on your next shopping trip and present it along with the card to the customer-service desk or the manager. You'll get the discounts you were denied the first time around.

Also, Your Money poster "LSG7168" notes that some stores have a "correct scanning" policy.

"If your item scans at a higher price than marked on the shelf, you get the item for free as an apology," LSG7168 wrote. "The store where I used to work advertised this at first and now refunds the full price (instead of the difference between scanned and marked) only if you ask. Something as simple as 'Do I get that for free since it scanned wrong?' will work."

Factory stores

The deals in the stores are just the start. Most factory-outlet chains offer coupons and unadvertised deals to knock prices down even further.

Start at the outlet's Web site and see what coupons are available. Many also offer "clubs" that feature additional discounts. Once you're at a store, check in at the outlet's management office to see what other deals and "today only" specials might be available.

Have some secret deals you'd like to share with the class? Post them on the Your Money message board.

Liz Pulliam Weston's new book, "Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want Out of Life," is now available. Columns by Weston, the Web's most-read personal-finance writer and winner of the 2007 Clarion Award for online journalism, appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message board.

Published April 9, 2007

< previous |  1 | 2 |